Contractor: Chapter - 27A Chapter by Outdated AccountWhite moves first, and THEN we play.“Are you really going to make me
ask?” Death wasn’t even paying attention to me as we walked down the hall to
what I assumed was his room or office or study or wherever it was that he did
things. “About what I was doing while I had
you digging?” As much as I wanted to know that,
it wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind when I asked. “I don’t understand your
confusion, it is quite obvious that I was also digging.” “That isn’t what I meant.” I was glaring
at him but he was walking too far ahead of me to see. “I meant that.” I poked
at the box, which he deftly moved out of my reach as soon as I got near. “I’ll tell you eventually, right
now I just need you to take a shower. You smell. I can’t go walking around with
a smelly collector now can I?” “Are you ki…” “Hide.” He’d stopped suddenly and
shoved me aside into another room just as I heard footsteps. I peeked out of
the doorway just in time to get a good look. “You can come out once I’ve left.” “Dante! Where have you been?” Before
I even had time to think about questioning him, Hope had come out of nowhere
and grabbed hold of him to drag him away. Her efforts to move him were in vain,
but it didn’t look like it was actually stopping her from trying. “And why are
you covered in dirt? You’re filthy! I swear, I let you out of my sight for one
minute and you go off somewhere and come back looking like…” “Here.” Dante pulled something out
of his pants pocket and held it out to her, I couldn’t see it from where I was
standing but it had shut her up and her eyes were glowing. “Its previous owner
didn’t have the guts to give it, so I dug him up to do it myself.” “You remembered!” Hope flung
herself around him, which prompted me to turn away, slightly embarrassed to be
watching someone else’s embrace. “Hope, I’m getting dirt on you.
Perhaps we could carry on elsewhere after cleaning up a bit.” “Fine, let’s go.” Hope stayed put
hanging from his neck as he walked down the hall and out of sight. “They’re weird aren’t they…” Amy had
come down the hall from the opposite direction. “They’re kind of a cute couple
though, maybe if Death had a little more emotion they would look like a normal cute couple.” “Nothing about that is normal. You
heard the part about him digging up a grave to get that pendant for her right?” “So that’s what it was.” I guess
that solved that mystery. “So what did you end up doing?” Amy
was looking at my dirty appearance curiously. “I dug up a grave, destroyed a fake
corpse, and retrieved a mysterious box that I don’t know what’s inside.” “Sounds like a typical Tuesday to
me.” Amy shrugged. “So it’s Tuesday. Good to know
again.” The separation from time I’d felt since waking up had been bothering me. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,”
Amy chuckled. I felt like I was missing something. “I’ll show you where the
shower is.” --------------- I’d already washed up but something
had stopped me from getting dressed again. I had passed in front of the mirror
and seen something out of place. It was me, but I couldn’t recognize my
reflection, which was arguably the most philosophical and simultaneously cliché
thing I had ever thought about. Nothing about me had really changed. I’d
braided my hair and my eyes were drawn to the scar on my chest, but there was a
deeper change that the mirror could only hint at. I wasn’t the same girl. I’d
begun to lose myself. Hardly any time had passed at all and yet I wasn’t afraid
of anything anymore, and that scared me more than anything ever had. My very
existence was a mystery to me, I was lost. A new hatred for mirrors was
beginning to form in my mind. “Are you done in here yet?” I
wasn’t sure how long I’d been staring at myself, confused. It must have been a
while to prompt Amy to walk in. “Samantha?” “How long did it take you to
realize you were someone different?” She’d been through the whole thing before
right? If anyone understood, she would. “You seem to be going through the
motions pretty fast.” She grabbed a robe from the hook by the door and wrapped
it around me. “It took me three months, but it didn’t surprise me when I first
saw it. I figured it would happen, just not so fast.” “How did you deal with it?” “I kept a part of who I used to be
alive. As long as I still know that it’s safe, I can deal with what I am.” “What is it?” I couldn’t think of
anything from my old life that I could save, I never really had much to begin
with. “I had a brother. I killed Hope to
save his life. Even though I’ve been forced to live like this forever, he got
the chance to live a normal life. He started a family that’s stayed strong for
generations, I survive by keeping tabs on them.” “I had a brother.” “Where is he now?” Amy sounded
optimistic, as though I could have the same connection as she did. “Dead.” I mumbled. “He disappeared
after a gang fight involving the kid I killed. That was part of the reason I
did it actually.” “I’m sorry to hear that.” Amy’s
optimism had disappeared. “It’s okay, I’m a tough girl. I can
manage.” “Staring at your reflection for an
hour isn’t exactly a strong indicator that you can.” “I just fell asleep for a bit.” “We don’t sleep.” “I’m over it. Could you hand me
those clothes?” I didn’t want to talk about it anymore, the more I thought
about it the worse I felt. I was still me, I just had to remember it. “Here, make it quick. I’ll be
waiting in our room, I have something to show you.” She handed me my clothes
and walked out of the room. Eager to escape the gaze of the
reflection in the mirror I threw my clothes on as quickly as I could and made
my way out of the washroom. The room I shared with Amy was just down and across
the hall. It would have been more convenient if our room had its own facilities,
but something told me the layout of the place was meant to be anything but
convenient. When I walked into the room I didn’t notice anything particularly
out of the ordinary. Amy was sitting at the same wooden table I’d sat frozen at
before. The only real change I saw in the room was the chessboard she’d set up
on the table. Was that what she wanted to show me? “Chess?” I remembered playing when
I was little, I couldn’t remember who with, but I hadn’t been good at it and I
couldn’t really remember how to play. “This is how I pass a lot of my
time. Hope has never been the most active contractor, so I play a lot. Mostly
with myself, but you’re here now…” She paused. “That is, if you want to? I
won’t force you to play, people don’t tend to play games they know they’ll
lose.” “Who said I would lose?” I sat
down, grinning. I probably would lose but a challenge sounded nice. Even if it
was only chess, knowing I wasn’t completely invincible would be refreshing. “Do you know how to play?” I
nodded. “Pick your side then.” “White moves first right?” She
nodded. “White then.” Amy carefully spun the board around so that the white
pieces were in front of me. “The last person I played, that
wasn’t me, said that even though white moves first black has the advantage of
getting to know their opponents strategy before revealing their own.” “I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’m
giving you much of an edge here.” I moved a pawn forward. “I just go on
instinct.” © 2016 Outdated Account |
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Added on June 5, 2016 Last Updated on October 30, 2016 Tags: novel, full length, serial, death, the grim reaper, grim reaper, business, contract, contracts, contract law, deal, deal with the devil, supernatural, paranormal, fiction, adventure, etc., macabre Author
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